Rain will impact NASCAR All-Star Weekend in Charlotte

It seems like nothing attracts rain like a NASCAR race the past couple of years. Honestly, though races in the south in the Spring time are just always going to be impacted by at least the chance of scattered storms or rain.

This weekend in Charlotte is no different though it’s not all doom and gloom as you might think. There is a chance half the weekend will be salvaged.

FRIDAY NIGHT: RAIN CHANCE 70%

I am most pessimistic about Friday night right now. We already have drizzle and mist likely ongoing early Friday and as the day goes on it could get worse. A large storm system will be moving over the region Friday night into Saturday. This will be a real soaker the only question is the timing, which has everything to do with how fast or slow it moves through. So right now I’d say Friday night is likely going to be rained out. Unless this low slows down a lot, which even if it does there would still be rain.

SATURDAY RAIN CHANCE 80%

So let us say Friday is a wash, well Saturday won’t start any better. I expect heavy rain most of the morning, but by around noon things could slowly get better. The low will be moving to the coast and away from the Speedway. There should be drier air trying to work in from the west, but how fast is a big question? It certainly looks better than Friday night or Saturday morning, but lingering drizzle could be an issue. Compared to the downpours Friday night and early Saturday, Saturday night doesn’t look all that bad.

Let’s look at the models at 2 pm Saturday:

8PM SATURDAY NIGHT, RAIN CHANCE 30-40%:

While not ideal there should be drying by evening. My only concern is wrap around moisture and pieces of energy from the coastal low. This coastal low needs to pull away fast, or it could wrap some moisture back in. It won’t be heavy, but a lot like the October race, these pesky lows can stall and pivot back on you. That being said there will be some windows for a shorter race like the All-Star race, but night time racing always makes it harder to dry the track. Lack of sunlight and higher humidity increases drying times even with air Titans.

WHAT ABOUT SUNDAY?

While not totally dry the chance of rain is only around 20-30% and it really is the best looking of all 3 days. So if anything or everything gets pushed back, Sunday might be the day a lot of the events take place.